


Meeting Again is Certain for Us

by orphan_account



Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Angst, Calm Down Erik, Canonical Character Death, Charles Being Concerned, Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Charles-centric, Crack, Erik Has Feelings, Fluff, M/M, Poor Erik, Protective Erik, Smut, X-Men: Apocalypse Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 17:19:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7182611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>5 times when Erik appeared just in time to rescue Charles and 1 time Charles realized he was helping Erik all along.</p><p> </p><p>“After rescuing you, don't I at least deserve to know your name?”<br/>“Of course,” Charles giggled. So the flirting wasn't a bad option after all. “My name is Charles. Charles Xavier.”<br/>“I'm Erik Lehnsherr. Nice to meet you, Charles.”<br/>His name rolled off Erik's tongue in the most pleasant manner.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Meeting Again is Certain for Us

i.

„Oh, no, no, _no!_ You can't die on me now!”

Charles was staring intensely as the screen of his brand new phone (damn you, Raven, he knew he should stick with the older model) faded to black with an irritating sound. The little light on top lit up couple of times more and then shut off.

He opened his mouth as he wanted to say something more but then he realized he was in public and talking to objects wasn't exactly an acceptable behaviour, even if the most annoying phone in the world was the case. The one, which made him lost contact with Raven, who was responsible for the trip.

Yeah, there was a trip.

So let's clear some things out. Charles wasn't an impulsive nor angry person. He didn't hate technology, even though he didn't understood most of the technical details people talked about. He was a science professor, not an IT specialist. How could he know he has to actually charge the phone after buying it, because the battery won't last for long otherwise?

Anyway, he was none of these things. In fact, on daily basis he was extremely calm. But not when he was alone in the middle of a foreign country all by himself. Raven couldn't wait to go to some club while Charles wanted to visit a local museum. So they split.

And for God's sake, Charles basically couldn't speak a word of German, didn't knew where he was. How could he let this situation happen in the first place? Obviously he started freaking out a little bit. To the certain point, when some stranger tapped him on the back and he almost screamed like a damsel in distress.

“Oh my… Hello! Guten Tag, I think. I don't know. I'm sorry.”

The stranger smiled understandingly. It caught Charles by surprise. He was taken aback by how the facial expression of this man was genuinely kind, let alone how attractive he was.

“Don't worry, I can speak English. Like most people here.”

“Oh,” said Charles. _Yes, that was smart_ , he snorted to himself. _I_ _can't even speak_ _properly in your native tongue_ _, when_ _I_ _see somebody good looking._ _Perfect._

“I saw you panicking, do you need help?”

“Yes, actually,” admitted Xavier finally. “My phone died on me just now and I don't know where I am.”

The other man nodded.

“A terrible case of amnesia or just a bad sense of direction?”

“Maybe both but only because my pride will hurt a little less,” Charles laughed soundly, being relaxed enough to converse normally. This man was not only ridiculously attractive but also funny and spoke English, which was really convenient. Was that the time to break the terrible flirting skills of his or should he do that after the stranger would show him proper directions, not to be left alone again?

Perhaps he should reconsider flirting at all, as the last time Raven told him he scared off half of the people invited on a party but he was drunk and he remembered none of it, so he could just act as if it never happened. Raven was always the one to exaggerate anyway.

Well, maybe both of them was. Qualities like this run in family.

“Tell me where you need to go, your secret is safe with me, I promise,” the stranger responded and _freaking winked at_ _me_ _, oh for pity's sake_.

Charles stopped himself from saying anything inappropriate as the other man explained him, which street he should go not to be so terribly lost. After couple of minutes it was obvious Charles just took a wrong turn at some point and that's why he found himself in such situation, not that it was less embarrassing.

“Thank you, my friend, I would probably have an emotional breakdown if you weren't here,” he said with a smile. As he was wondering what to ad, the man returned the smile in a slightly more cheeky way.

“After rescuing you, don't I at least deserve to know your name?”

“Of course,” Charles giggled. So the flirting wasn't a bad option after all. “My name is Charles. Charles Xavier.”

“I'm Erik Lehnsherr. Nice to meet you, Charles.”

His name rolled off Erik's tongue in the most pleasant manner.

  
  


  
  


ii.

What was unexpected, it wasn't the last time Charles saw Erik. Although they knew each other's names, they didn't exchange phone numbers nor any other form of contact. Charles was leaving Germany in a few days anyway, so there was no sense in starting a friendship or anything beyond that.

Two months have passed since that day in Germany and Charles was being inside his favourite library, searching for a book on a subject of molecular genetics. He was preparing for one of his lectures, making some notes as he had a habit of keeping them on paper instead of some kind of technical device. He also preferred book sources, instead of the internet. Most of the books he needed were already in his private collection, so there was no need of going anywhere else, but once in a while there appeared a subject or a certain book, which required it.

Not that Charles minded. He adored libraries, the smell of books and the sight of other people as much in love in the atmosphere of those places as he was.

There was only one issue.

The book he was looking for had to be placed on the highest shelf possible and there was no ladder anywhere to be seen.

He tried to jump as high as he could and reach the book but it wasn't working and probably looked more than ridiculous. When he tried it for the third (and final, he told himself) time, someone from the behind grabbed the book.

“Hey, that's mine!” He objected instantly.

As he turned around, he saw a familiar face.

Erik Lehnsherr was holding _his_ book, smiling at him as if meeting strangers from Germany in New York's library was totally normal and _hell_ , he was looking even hotter than before, dressed in a black turtleneck and skinny jeans.

“Hi,” Charles almost whispered.

The other man was standing so close.

“Fancy seeing you here, Charles. I know it's your book. I grabbed it for you.” He made it sound so obvious Charles couldn’t help but blush a little.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure. Also, molecular genetics? You really think I am that smart?”

_Did he just call me smart?_

“Well, you'd have to study a little and read a shit tone of books like I did, being smart is not the point, patience on the other hand…” Charles laughed. He took the book from Erik and their fingers brush against each other.

It made him shiver a little bit in the lower parts of his back.

Erik shook his head.

“Even worse, patience's not exactly my thing. You're a student around here?”

“No, actually… I'm a professor at Columbia University.”

“Really?” Erik asked, a shade of confusion appearing on his face, which quickly turned into a smirk. “How old are you?”

“I'm 26 and don't look at me like that!”

“Oh, well, I didn't know I bumped into a genius, I'm sorry,” Lehnsherr said as his smile got bigger. His teeth reminded Charles of a shark. He was never more fond of sharks before in his life.

But hearing the compliment made Charles blush even harder than before, so he hid his face in the book of molecular genetics in a pathetic attempt not to let Erik see the colour spreading across his cheeks.

“Hardly a genius, since I can't even charge my phone properly.”

He looked at the other man from behind the hard cover of his book. Erik just rolled his eyes and grabbed Charles's hand in order to lower the book.

“Well, I can always help you with that.”

“Can you?”

“Sure,” Erik declared. “But now I have to go find a book for my friend. Have fun with your molecular genetics, Charles.”

Xavier blinked at Erik as the man left.

  
  


  
  


iii.

Another month have passed for Charles to find himself on a concert. Only it wasn't a classical one with an amazing orchestra like he preferred. He was forced by Raven to attend to some kind of punk-rock gathering. He didn't really know any of the artists, who appeared on the stage but the audience was cheering even louder than before, so Charles deduced they were the most popular ones yet.

“I love them,” Raven shouted. “They're my favourite band!”

Charles frowned at the noise. He knew his sister was into more violent music, it really helped her to become the person she was, confident and proud of herself, which Charles was thankful for. But music he heard now didn't even had any rhythm and  what was the main vocalist singing about? Was it even in English? 

“They're great,” he tried to force a smile.

Fortunately Raven wasn't much attention to him. She quickly raised from her sit and told Charles she wanted to go closer to the stage and then get an autograph. Before Charles could said anything in return, she was already gone.

He waited patiently for the concert to stop. Couple of artists gave their performance, two hours have passed and Charles began to wonder if Raven was going back at all. People were leaving the place, probably going to get drunk or such but Xavier was still sitting there.

Stubbornness was one of his worse qualities. He had to admit that going home would be the best option now but Raven had his car keys and his wallet in her purse, so he was basically stuck there until his sister would recall leaving him. Which should be soon, shouldn't it…

His thoughts were rapidly interrupted by seeing a familiar face.

“Erik?”

The man turned around and met his eyes. As soon as he saw Charles, he began to smile.

“Hello, Charles.”

“You know, for someone, who lives in Germany, you surely spend a lot of time in New York,” chuckled Charles.

Lehnsherr approached him and sat in Raven's empty seat.

“Who says I'm living in Germany? I was on a business trip.”

“Oh,” Charles said dumbly. He didn't see that coming. “Nevertheless, with your knowledge about the place you would make a great citizen. And I thought your accent was partially German too. I guess I was wrong.”

Erik raised his eyebrows at him, somehow surprised.

“You were right, actually. Partially. But definitely closer than most people,” he said. “I was born in Poland but my family moved to Germany for my early childhood. That I visited it lots of times, that's why I know it so well.”

Charles nodded, interested in knowing more. He almost forgot why he was there in the first place.

“You lived in many places?”

“You have no idea! I visited even more. Travelling itself is a wonderful experience but changing the whole environment every few months isn't my cup of tea any more.”

_Any more?_

“So you're staying in New York now?”

“Yes, I live here now and I'm staring to see the appeal,” Erik stated, looking into Charles's eyes. Xavier smiled a little and reprimanded himself not to blush again. Erik surely meant social and pop cultural events, didn't he?

“You mean the concert?”

“Among other things.”

Someone couple seats in front of them cheered happily and ruined the moment but that was exactly what reminded Charles of the fact Raven didn't come back and he had to find a way to get home. His face fell instantly. Erik seemed to notice the fact.

“Is something wrong?” He asked with concerned voice.

“No, everything's fine,” said Charles almost automatically as if being not okay was something he should be ashamed of. He reflected after a while. “It's my sister… She left to the stage and I haven't seen her since. I'm a little worried.”

“One of the bands was throwing a party somewhere, I'm sure that's where she is right now,” Erik answered reassuringly. He looked like he wanted to touch Charles's shoulder to comfort him but then he hesitated and decided not to.

Charles sighed with a little bit of relief. So Raven was safe, that was a plus. But he still needed to somehow find a way of transport. Going on foot, while incredibly healthy and enjoyable on a daily basis, was not the best idea in the middle of the night in New York.

“That's great, though she unfortunately has my car keys and my wallet.”

Erik started laughing.

It wasn't just a quick chuckle, the man totally lost it.

“I'm sorry! Don't be mad at me. It's just I should have figured out already that these things happen to you all the time.”

“They don't,” he mumbled. “Just every time you happen to be near apparently.”

“So now it's my fault?” Erik smirked.

“I never said _that_.”

Erik shook his head lightly.

“That's your lucky day, then. I have a night off, my car and my keys.”

Charles was honestly taken aback by Erik's not so subtle offer. He stared at him for a second, waiting for a catch, or some kind of condition. Erik was basically a stranger to him. A stranger, who Charles met three times and who helped him each time but still a stranger.

Xavier wouldn't deny he wanted for Erik to be something more, a friend or a lover. But at the same time, wasn't it exciting? Meeting Erik on the streets. He was incredibly kind and charming. His high intelligence was very clear and Charles was glad there was a room for a potential conversation, which would make him genuinely interested and intrigued.

Randomly meeting Erik started to be something Charles looked up to, which was ridiculous. How many times you can meet a stranger in New York? Well, the whole world actually, as their first meeting happened in Europe.

“You're offering me a ride?”

“Is that really surprising?”

“But you don't even know how far away I live.”

“Then tell me.”

They established Charles lived a total of half an hour from their current location. Charles kept insisted he didn't want to trouble Erik, but the other man was having none of it. He basically shoved Charles into his car and Charles didn't really mind as it was getting colder and Raven forbade him to take any kind of sweater, because “ _he couldn't bring this grandpa look to the punk-rock concert_ ”.

Erik asked about directions from time to time. After a while Charles started to talk about Raven, his job and third Ph.D. he was currently working on. Really soon, a rather fascinating debate between them began. It concerned human rights and violating them, cultural differences and current political situation with refugees.

Although Charles didn't agree with Erik all the time, the debate has been incredibly pleasant. He loved how easy talking to Erik was. The arguments made sense and were a challenge for Xavier to make his point. He was almost sad, when he noticed they were really close to Charles's final destination.

“We're here,” he said when they stopped right before the main entrance.

“You didn't tell me you live in a mansion.”

“I don't like to show off,” Charles shrugged.

“You literally told me you have three Ph.D.'s!”

“That's different!”

All of the sudden they were  laughin g. When it ended, the silence wasn't unpleasant .  Charles couldn't stop looking at Erik, his eyes and lips, which looked so good. Erik seemed to be under the same spell as well. He moved closer to Charles. Xavier stopped breathing for a second. That's it. They were going to kiss.

Then Erik drew away.

“Charming genius with a castle. Careful or I'll believe you're real.” He smiled sadly at him.

Charles didn't push the matter, suddenly feeling really stupid he wanted to kiss Erik. He wished Erik a safe journey  as they said goodbye , which lasted a little bit too long. After he got out of the car, his emotions started to clear out, cold air making him more focused. Though when he got inside, he spent the whole night wondering what  exactly Erik meant by  not believing he was real.

When Raven came back in the morning, she thought Charles was just mad at her, because she left him at the concert. She wanted to apologize. Charles pretended to be exactly what Raven expected him to be because it was easier than explaining that he was _helplessly_ _falling for a_ _man he hardy knew_.

  
  


  
  


iv.

“You know, I am beginning to think you really are my knight in shiny armour. Or a stalker,” Charles said, three months later, when he saw Erik outside of the hotel he just stepped out of.

Xavier was invited on his colleague’s lecture. He liked to have an opportunity to listen to other people, who had a valuable points and a great ways of presenting it. It was all the same this time. All of the listeners were interested in the topic and it was a nice difference to the lectures he had in college, where he began to judge himself and his work based on the scale of how many students fell asleep this time.

He was beginning to think that his and Erik's impromptu meetings stopped. After the first two weeks of being constantly absent minded, thinking about the night and their almost kiss, he began to accept that, told himself it was for the better.

But of course Erik had to appear again.

He was casually sitting on the bench in front of the building, drinking coffee.

“Given today's standards, the other one seems more accurate.”

“Good thing today I don't have any troubles!” Charles exclaimed proudly.

“That's something new,” commented Erik with this damned smirk, which Charles wanted to kiss off his face. Passionately. _Christ, how desperate am I?_

Walking down the stairs towards the bench, Charles rolled his eyes. But he wasn't going to sit beside Erik today. The man clearly didn't want anything from him and their meetings were purely coincidental. Xavier shouldn't push it.

“Have a nice day, Erik,” he added, opening the door of his car.

The vehicle was standing impossibly close the exact same bench Erik was sitting on, starring intensely on Charles, who decided to go away really quickly before he'll do anything stupid, for example ask Erik out just to be rejected.

He put the keys in the ignition and twisted them. Only another minute and he won't have to think about his feelings towards Erik…

Nothing happened.

His car didn't even move.

Charles wanted to scream in frustration and throw his hands in the air but he didn't, he just blinked at the machine slowly.

Someone knocked against the windshield. It was Erik, raising his eyebrows at Charles.

“No troubles, huh?”

Xavier decided to step out of the car, just because he couldn't crawl into some dark hole and stay there. The fact that Erik was closely watching his every move wasn't the best feeling either. Not that it was creepy, of course not. Charles was just embarrassed, scared by his own feelings and the fact he met again and again someone so perfect, who he couldn't apparently have.

Maybe he was the creepy one.

_What if Erik thinks that? And suggested I “wasn't real”, because he thinks I was lying to him in order to manipulate him? Oh dear, it's so wrong, I wouldn't ever…_

He shook the thought off his head.

“It doesn't work,” he complained, looking at the car.

Erik took a quick glimpse of the car inside.

“No wonder it doesn't work, you ran out of gas.”

Charles was meant to refill it the other day but then he had some other things to take care of and eventually, he forgot. Great. It was his fault this time, Raven didn't forbid him doing it, nobody refused to sell it to him. He forgot.

“I'm so stupid,” he whined finally, hiding his face in his hands. “Sorry I had to waste your time again, I guess I'll just walk home today.”

Erik took one of his hands not to let Charles hid behind it. He smiled softly at the shorter man as if everything was all right and Charles almost believed him.

“Don't be ridiculous. You're never wasting my time, Charles. There's a gas station not far from here, we can go there and bring some fuel.”

“Let's go then.”

Walking down the streets was pleasant. It was a warm evening and Charles started another discussion, in which Erik wanted to prove his point just as badly as him. Then they changed the subject to Erik's childhood somehow. Charles enjoyed it very dearly, since he wanted to get to know the other man better.

He actually didn't think about his concerns, hearing the wonderful stories about Germany and Poland, Erik's parents and pets, trips all around the world. Erik began to open up more and more. Gas station must have been a little farer than Erik said it would be but Charles couldn’t force himself to care about it.

When they got there, Erik picked up a gas can, while Charles saw some new edition of his favourite science magazine. Moira was telling him to stop reading these, because it was foolish and not worth anybody's while, specially not Charles's, since he was a professor. But Xavier liked the way these magazines were creatively making up theories, encouraging people to learn science, making them think by themselves and have their own opinions.

Charles loved it.

So much he didn't realize Erik was already standing by his side, watching him getting excited over some magazine. He quickly excused himself to go to the toilet. Spending time with Erik was different than being with other people. Erik was always so much more, even though they had so limited time to actually talk. Charles took a deep breath and stared into a mirror, his reflection was a little pale but happy.

He was going to do something today.

After he left the bathroom, he found out that Erik already paid for the shopping. He kept a carrier bag in one hand with the gas can, a candy bar for himself and the science magazine Charles was looking at earlier.

“Oh, Erik, you shouldn't have,” Charles insisted.

“I convinced you to come here, it's the only proper way,” answered Erik.

“And the magazine? I'm sure it wasn't necessary, I can give you the money back, you know?”

Erik shook his head, giving Charles a fond look.

“I know you can. But I'm not going to let you,” he laughed at Charles's confusion. “Think of it as a gift. I'm sure you get more amazing gifts from your rich friends. Anyway, when you think about it, more or less six month have passed since we first met, that's an occasion.”

Charles wanted to disagree with having so called rich friends but when he thought about it it sounded really pathetic. What friends did he actually have? Raven for sure but she was his sister, obligated to like him no matter what. He had Moira, since couple of years ago. They were close friends for sure.

And then there was Erik. A man Charles trusted completely, even though he knew he shouldn't. He wondered if Erik thought about him the same way. _Six months… That's certainly an occasion._

“Thank you, my friend.”

They went back towards the car, continuing their previous conversation. Yet Erik was somehow not paying attention towards what Charles was saying. Xavier decided not to mind for a while, continuing one of his monologues.

After ten minutes, Erik looked him in the eyes for the first time since they left the gas station and seemed almost afraid.

“Charles?”

“Yes, Erik?”

“What would you say if I asked you about your phone number?”

  
  


  
  


v.

Charles was talking to Erik almost every day for a month. Not about anything much significant but every conversation with Erik seemed magical and special. They were laughing, telling each other stories, complaining about some every day problems, even confessing secrets. Charles learned a lot of new things about Erik and adored every one of them. He remembered all the details, somehow storing them in this part of his brain, which was selected for Lehnsherr and their private or even intimate conversations.

One day he was sitting on the couch in his living room, sending Erik a picture of dozens of essays and complaining about how he had so much work to do and so little strength. Raven walked into the room with a bowl of snacks. She grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.

Charles didn't even react to a sudden noise of some music programme. Raven gave him a look.

“You're smiling and texting,” she said, clearly confused.

“Is that bad?” Charles raised his eyebrows and looked at her from behind the screen of his phone.

“No. It means you have a crush. Tell me who it is! Do I know him?”

She got all excited, suddenly moving a lot closer to try and have a peek of Charles's messages. He fortunately managed to click send and turn off his phone just on time. Smiling at her widely, he tried shaking his head to convince her he didn't have any crush but his facial expression gave him away.

“Who says there's somebody?”

“You wouldn't be smiling like that, Charles! Is it something serious? Tell me!”

He giggled and took his phone again to find a picture of Erik the man sent him the other day. He was obviously acting like a silly teenager but the truth was he wasn't in love a long time and now it seemed so right, even though he didn't tell Erik a word about his feelings.

“It's Erik,” he declared, showing his sister the picture.

“Damn. He's handsome. How long do you know each other?”

“About… Seven month.”

“What, that long? And you haven't told me?” She looked at him displeased. Charles was meant to tell Raven but it was so complicated and then they started talking more but not really seeing each other, so Charles didn't know what he should think about the whole situation and feared his sister's criticism.

“I intended to. Really, I did,” he swore. “I met him in Germany on our trip actually. Later I found out he lives in New York.”

He started to talk about Erik to Raven, who wanted to know every little detail and he ended up not checking even one of the essays. Finally they decided they should go out. Dressing up was a quick process and half an hour later they were in Charles's favourite club.

Time was passing as they were dancing, drinking, having fun. Charles lost count of the amount of drinks he ordered. He was a little dizzy, so he sat down for a while. Raven was already flirting with some guy in the back. He looked decent enough, so Charles didn't disagree. Raven was also much more responsible than him and didn't drink nearly as much as Charles, so she was completely sober.

Then she disappeared somewhere and _damn it_ , he was in this situation again. It was getting late, Charles didn't want to flirt with anybody beside Erik and far was too drunk to drive his car. What was beside the point really, because the last thing he wanted was to cause an accident.

Erik.

He _could_ call Erik now.

Dialling his number was a hard part but then all he could do was listening to the signal carefully. He thought Erik wouldn't pick up, until the signal stopped and Xavier started smiling.

“Charles?”

His voice was a little rough.

“Oh no, did I wake you up?”

“That's all right,” Erik answered. There was a sound of him moving through the sheets, probably sitting up. “Did something happen?”

Charles bit his lip.

“I just wanted to hear your voice, that's all.”

On the other side of the line Erik chuckled.

“Are you drunk?”

“Maybe.”

“How much did you drink?”

“Well, I sort of lost count…”

Charles stretched and decided to stand up. He was still dizzy and probably far too drunk to be wandering alone but sitting in the same place for too long bored him.

“Do you someone who'll take you home?”

“I have a car…”

“Like hell you're driving!”

“…but Raven is gone, probably having sex. For once it's her, not me.”

An awkward moment later Erik cleared his throat.

“I'll be having a serious talk with Raven sooner or later about leaving you alone.”

“You want to meet my sister? Oh, Erik, it's lovely!” Charles exclaimed happily.

There was a heavy sigh from Erik's side of the line.

“I'll get you. Tell me where you are.”

Charles was lucky he knew the exact address. Twenty minutes later Erik arrived. In front of the club there was Charles, leaning against a wall. Standing next to him was also a man, just a few meters ahead of Charles, apparently talking to him.

To be honest, Charles couldn't care less. He was drunk, kind of tired and didn't have any desire to talk to anybody beside Erik or maybe Raven if she showed up.

But the guy was stubborn.

“We can go to the bathroom or at the back of the alley and… _Have a little fun_.”

“Don't wanna.”

“C'mon, it will be nice.”

“Leave me alone,” Charles frowned at him.

“Oi, you think just because you're pretty you have the right to talk to me like that?!”

Erik left his car instantly. He basically ran towards Charles but he probably would like to think it looked at least a little calm or like he had his emotions under control. Then of course it didn't matter any more, because he grabbed the man, who was bothering Charles, and pushed him against the same wall Charles was leaning against.

“I think he said he wants you to leave him alone,” Erik growled.

“Easy, man! Who are you, his boyfriend or a bodyguard?”

“Not your fucking business.”

It was obvious Erik wanted to punch the man but he stopped himself just before doing it.

“Get lost,” he said angrily as he moved towards Charles, loosening the grip on the stranger.

The man eyed them up and down with a look of contempt.

“I wouldn't want your posh ass anyway.”

He spit on the ground in front of Charles and entered the club once again.

“I can't believe you actually go to these places,” Erik told Charles in disbelief after a couple of seconds.

“It's actually pretty decent if you exclude the assholes.”

Erik's eyes softened a little.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course I am,” Charles answered, smiling. “Thanks to you.”

They went to the car. Charles needed a little help with getting in and not triping over his own legs but they managed. He closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them again they were already a few streets away from the club.

“Thank you, my friend. I'm afraid it wouldn't be pleasant if you didn't appear.”

“I'm glad I did,” Erik muttered. “Do you do that often?”

“What, being assaulted? Not really,” he tried to turn the whole thing into a joke but Erik only shook his head slightly. His eyes were focused on the street ahead of him but Charles knew Erik was watching him from the corner of his eye.

Lehnsherr bit his lip _and it looked so hot, but also disconcerting, Xavier, think for fuck's sake._

“Going to the bars? Fucking people, drinking?”

“I used to.”

“Used to?”

“During my university years, that is. I had to do something, when I wasn't studying genetics. Now I like to go out and drink once in a while, I still have no limit, when it comes to the alcohol as you can see. Though there's no fucking against the wall.”

Charles was glad he was still quite intoxicated, because otherwise he would be blushing and basically jumping out of the window to escape Erik's sight. Lustful sight. _Oh_.

“Fucking against the wall?”

“I preferred to be fucked, to be honest,” he said lowly. “Sometimes I like it a little harsher. Strong arms around me, hard cock in my…”

“ _Stop_ ,” Erik pleaded. Charles looked down and saw Erik's erection, visible through his jeans. “I can't. Not when you're drunk. _Please_.”

Charles didn't know what to say. He turned away from Erik and looked through the window. He was foolish and actually really lucky that Erik didn't decide to throw him out of the car instantly. But on the other hand, Charles made Erik want him, that was clear. What was wrong?

This reminded Charles of his previous concerns about Erik thinking Charles lied to him at some point. It was so weirdly making sense all of the sudden and he just wanted to stop thinking about it but he couldn't.

The car suddenly stopped. They were already at the residence.

“We're here,” Erik said quietly.

The only thing Charles did was looking at Erik once again.

“Remember the thing you once told me about not believing I was real?” He asked straight away.

“Yes.”

“You think I'm lying to you? Manipulating you whatsoever? Because I'm not, Erik, I'm so not manipulating you, I couldn't ever manipulate you. The residence is shitty and my Ph.D.'s were just to pass the time and I have many flaws. I'm overly excited about some stupid magazines or stories from your journeys. I dress far too boring for my age and I can't for the life of mine find any location without a map or some help. I don't understand technology and I forget to refill the fuel in my car. God, I can't even stop myself from drinking too much. But I am not untrustworthy I swear…” Charles blurted out. He felt the need to talk, explain himself and probably wouldn't stop if he didn't feel Erik's warm lips on his mouth.

He closed his eyes slowly.

Charles didn't think he'd kissed anybody so softly and yet passionately before. But still, it was extremely innocent. He put his hands on the back of Erik's head, brushing the man's short hair with his fingers. Erik's hands rested on Charles's cheeks. They kissed slowly and it was the most perfect thing Charles could imagine, holding Erik in his arms like that. It felt as it was meant to be that way.

Unfortunately after a while, Erik drew back.

“I shouldn't,” he admitted. “You're drunk. But I didn't _ever_ think you lied to me. That's not what I meant that night.”

Charles hesitated. If lying wasn't the matter, what else could it be? He stayed quiet for a while just so he could ask shyly:

“Then what did you mean?”

Erik smiled.

“That you're too perfect to be real.”

  
  


  
  


+i.

It was hard to forget about a night like that. Charles may have been drunk, probably too emotional for his own good but he certainly paid every bit of attention towards Erik, their kiss and the way they parted. There was a silent promise of something more in the future and it was all Xavier needed to be impossibly happy.

When he didn't have lectures, he was thinking about Erik, his lovely shade of blue eyes, amazing smile, soft voice and even softer touch. He talked to Erik couple of times over the phone. It was only a few times, just because if they started talking, it'd take at least half a day for some of them to disconnect. Charles was building up the courage to ask Erik to meet him again. Talking to him was so easy but they eventually had to see each other in person and hopefully try again what they were doing the last time.

On top of that, Charles wouldn't mind clearing the situation of their friendship or a potential relationship but he wasn't going to complain. Seeing Erik on whatever ground he could get was all he wanted.

Of course Raven saw Charles being more and more happy during the following days.

“Did you get laid? Or another Ph.D.?”

He laughed.

“Oh my dear Raven, I just feel really groovy.”

“So it was sex, wasn't it?”

“Well, not yet.”

Raven looked at him scandalously. She probably didn't count on Charles to actually spill the beans. He's never been the type to boast about his sexual life or any romantic interest. As if there was any… Xavier for a long time was focused only on his studies. Nobody would interrupt in his safe routine.

Not until Erik.

“Was that where you disappeared when we were drinking a couple of days ago?”

“ _I_ disappeared _?_ ”

“ _Technically_ I didn't leave the bar.”

“You can spare me the details, Raven, I don't want to know!”

“Then tell me what happened with you!”

Charles looked longingly at his phone. It was no secret any more that he and Erik had something between them. He could as well tell his sister about it. As he took a sip of green tea from his favourite cup (there may or may not have been written a terrible pun “don't trust atoms, they make up everything” on it but Charles never said he had a good sense of humour), he began talking:

“I called him when you left and asked him to pick me up… Wait, no.” This point in his memory was still a little hazy and uncertain. But taking the amount of alcohol he consumed, he should be glad he didn't black out instantly. “He suggested it and asked me to wait there.”

“Oh, he was worried about you,” squeaked Raven.

“Stop.” Xavier rolled his eyes. “Then just before Erik appeared, some guy tried to make me have sex with him.”

“Wait, what the hell, Charles?”

“Obviously, I didn't agree.”

“Did he do anything to you?!”

She was instantly furious. Charles could've predicted it. They were really close since childhood, as they were actually everything the other one had. All of the fancy environment didn't belong to them and the only attention they got was the wrong sort – _oh no, Charles, did you get beaten in school again? Can't you do anything right? Raven, another problem with your grades? I can't believe!_

They had to have each other's back. Raven instantly felt guilty for leaving Charles after hearing something like that and Charles saw that on her face right away. He shook his head.

“No. Erik sort of protected me. He threw the man on a wall and told him to leave me alone.”

The tension disappeared, when Raven laughed genuinely at Charles's awkward expression.

“He beat him to protect you. I really need to buy him a beer or something.”

After that Charles told Raven the rest of the story. She listened without interrupting until the end. Charles spoke about thinking Erik didn't trust him and what happened then.

“So he just told you you're fucking perfect but he needs to think about all of this for some reason?”

That was the part Charles didn't want to recall amongst all of the others. Another thing he didn't understand. Every time he was with Erik he felt amazing. Lehnsherr seemed to be at least a little fond of him too, otherwise why would he kiss him or help him all this time?

But Erik said he needed to think about this, about _them_. Charles of course didn't have anything against it. He respected Erik's needs. But it made it a little more complicated, when Charles wanted to meet Erik somehow and remembered Erik should be the one to suggest it, because he needed time.

Charles only wished he could help him if Erik had any problems in order to be in a relationship with him or in general. They could talk about it, try it out. Charles didn't date for a long time either. He would probably be a useless boyfriend. He should tell Erik that. Charles was someone, who loved reading complex works about genetics to bed or spending whole days at the university, his time filled with work and these were just examples of things, which would make their relationship a little strange but he had a feeling Erik would only laugh if Charles mentioned it. And then winked at him.

Xavier smiled softly to himself, thinking about the other man.

“Tell you what,” said Raven, looking at him with a smirk. “Wait a week from now and then ask him out on a proper date.”

That's what Charles wanted to do. His sister's advices were usually really well suited for situations, which involved any romantic interest, while Charles was more or less clueless in that matter.

Couple of days passed and Charles found himself worrying a little about lack of contact from Erik. Sometimes he wondered if having Erik's phone number was the right way, although they certainly had many pleasant conversations on the phone. But when they were just randomly meeting on the streets it was so much simpler. Charles wouldn't be so anxious about every minute Erik stayed silent.

But that was worth it, wasn't it? Worth the feeling he had deep in his stomach every time ha heard a text notification.

The seventh day say since Raven told him to wait was at the same time the fifth day of Erik not talking to him and Charles couldn't take it any longer.

Picking the right number in his mobile and calling wasn't as stressful as waiting for Erik to answer. It took him about the right amount for Charles to give up Erik will actually answer at all. Xavier was just about to hung up, quite disappointed, but suddenly he heard a weak “hello” and almost dropped the phone.

“Erik!”

“Hi, Charles. Did something happen?”

Charles couldn't help but notice how sad Erik was.

“No, I'm fine. I was actually worried about you, not answering to my text and all. Not that I think you _have to_ … You can do whatever you want. Even delete my number. Well, I would be extremely miserable if you did.” _God, did I actually say that? Now Erik probably thinks I am just seeking his attention._ Which he kind of was, but he was honestly so much worried about Erik too. “Sorry about the babbling. I was just worried…”

“That's okay.”

Xavier could hear the smile in Erik's voice.

“Are you?”

“Huh?”

“Are you okay?”

Erik hesitated.

“I'm fine,” he said after a short while and Charles didn't believe him for a second. “Really. You don't need to worry about me,” he added smoothly. His voice turned into a rather soft tone.

“If you say so,” Charles answered.

“You know, I was thinking about you.”

Confusion appeared on Charles's face.

“Wait, is this why you were…”

“No! I told you I'm fine.”

For a moment Charles thought about ending the call there. Was Erik becoming irritated with him? He wouldn't be the first nor the last person to stop talking with Xavier because of it. Charles could just step back and pretend he wasn't thinking about Erik all the time, wondering what the man was doing, making up new theories about Erik's weird behaviour…

“Fine isn't always what we think it is, Erik,” he said, eyes focused somewhere in the distance. He wished Erik would trust him but at the same time he couldn't blame Erik for not wanting to do so. “But it's all right. I am here for you if you want to talk, remember that, my friend.”

There was a longer pause, during which Erik stayed silent and Charles felt the need of apologizing but he didn't say anything. Somehow it didn't feel appropriate to disturb the sound of silence.

“I know you are,” whispered Erik. “It's not your fault, you know… That I didn't talk to you. I wanted to explain everything to you. But I didn't know whether I could just tell you and expect you to understand. _Stay_.”

“Oh, Erik, you can tell me anything.”

“Not this way, I can't. I didn't even thought it would be possible at all. We've only met as strangers and it was okay, but then all of the commitment came from nowhere and I'm sorry, I don't know what to do,” Erik admitted. He sounded so broken.

He didn't want to commit and yet Charles always hoped so dearly for a relationship with Erik. Maybe he should just stop. But the other man sounded terrified and sad, whatever caused it, it wasn't Charles. Xavier did want to help though.

“I don't want to cause you any problems but please, explain it to me.”

Erik could scowl at him.

In fact, he should have done that. Charles was probably stepping far out of his line. He pushed something, which apparently meant a lot to Erik. It caused him pain. These kind of issues were kept close, especially by some, who treated their secrets in an extremely secured way. Erik did exactly that, which Charles noticed a long time ago.

But Erik sighed.

“Okay. Next weekend, are you free?”

“Yes,” Charles answered with confusion.

“Let's meet at the airport. Bring your passport, pack for two days. I will explain everything to you.”

He disconnected.

So there was Charles, standing on Friday evening by the fountain in front of the airport. He got the hour and place texted by Erik before and he waited patiently for the man to appear. He didn't want to be too nervous about the whole situation. When he asked Erik, he didn't really expect to be invited for a trip, probably not a very enjoyable one as Erik wanted to share with him something, which hunted the man for a long time.

Although Charles was happy to finally see Erik, he was also incredibly anxious about it, as much as he didn't want to let the extreme emotions got to him. Somehow both the bad and the good feeling seemed inappropriate.

Erik came from the direction of the nearest bus stop. He probably didn't want to leave his car in a parking lot for this long, which was perfectly understandable. He was wearing a simple leather jacked. In his right hand he hold a small bag, which presumably contained clothes, hygiene products and money.

Damn it. Charles wanted to shout at himself for analysing every single thing Erik did.

They walked side by side inside, where Erik asked for two tickets to Poland. Charles raised his eyebrows and looked curiously at Erik but said nothing, until they got on the plane.

“Why are we flying to Poland?”

“I lived there sometime ago.”

Charles nodded understandingly.

“How is it there?”

Erik smiled.

“It's wonderful. And so much simpler than anywhere else,” he confessed. “You know, I lived by the factory I worked in. Had a house. It was almost perfect.”

Then Charles decided to change the topic to something lighter. He talked about his sister and some usual drama at the University. Erik was laughing at the end, so Charles thought he was at least good at cheering him up for a second.

Unfortunately flying to Poland meant a long trip, which leaded to Charles getting tired at some point. He looked at the clock, which showed clearly it was already 2AM. Time passed so quickly, when he was with Erik. He yawned and apologised with a shy smile.

“I'll probably go to sleep for a couple of hours.”

Erik agreed for it to be the best option. They would land in Poland in the morning, so there was no point for staying up so long. Charles leaned his head against the cold window glass. He shivered a little and changed his position. Not that there was chilly in the plain but it was certainly not quite pleasant to spent a night with his bare skin touching a cold window. Erik seemed to notice the way Charles was struggling. He looked at Xavier for a brief second and then handed him a jacket he previously took off.

“Here, take it. Put it under your head,” he offered. “It's worse than a pillow but it's something.”

Charles looked at the object in his hands. He shook his head.

“No, I can't take it. What if you get cold?”

“I won't.”

“But I'm all right.”

“No, you're not, take the damned jacket. I took you on this trip and I am responsible for your well being, you don't get to argue.”

After a couple of seconds, they started laughing. Charles's cheeks coloured a little. He put the jacket between the window and his head, which made it comfortable enough to sleep. Taking a deeper breath, he smiled once again.

“Thank you, my friend.”

Erik returned the smile.

“Goodnight, Charles.”

Xavier tucked his face into the jacket. He could smell a subtle hint of Erik's cologne. It was a wonderful feeling, in fact too good to be true. He closed his eyes and imagined there was Erik laying next to him, making him warm and loved.

He dreamt about the factory in Poland Erik told him about. It was so peaceful and yet seemed very real for something Charles have never seen in his life. Having Erik by his side always made things more pleasurable.

Charles woke up, when Erik shook him gently. First thing he noticed was a smile spread across Erik's face. He felt something warm in his chest, while he didn't really pay attention to what the other man was saying. Spending a millennium, just looking at Erik's soft expression, was something Charles could do without hesitation.

Then he saw the morning already came, light shining on them shamelessly. It meant they were going to leave the plane soon. Charles should prepare their hand luggages and then go to the bathroom to wash his face with cold water in order to be fully awoken. But watching Erik made moving very difficult.

Lehnsherr laughed.

“Are you even listening to me, Charles?”

“I am going to… In a couple of minutes. Promise,” mumbled Charles. He closed his eyes once again, basically hugging the jacket Erik gave him at night.

“Okay, Schatz.”

 _Isn't Schatz a German word for treasure?_ , Charles asked himself. After his tremendous fail in communication during the trip to Berlin he tried to learn a bit of German himself. Looking through some dictionaries and online courses was an excellent way to get to know a lot of random words and phrases but it didn't help in improving general abilities of speaking in this language. Apparently though, he might began to understood some of it.

Sinking under another wave of thoughts, he fell back asleep, however irresponsible that was. Erik woke him up sometime later and talked some senses into him. Not that he was close to being rude, Erik talked really nicely, realizing Charles they had to get out of the plane in _five minutes_.

Charles stood up instantly, beginning to clean the stuff he left near his seat. There was only one problem, most of his things were gone and only the more insignificant ones were left. He shot a concerned look towards Erik, who shook his head, seeing the expression.

“I already packed our things. Didn't get much sleep anyway,” he explained. “Keep my jacket, it's going to be a lot colder here than in New York, that's for sure.”

The first thing Charles wanted to argue about was why Erik didn't sleep, he shouldn't stay up all night just by himself. Xavier could keep him company at very least, or better, somehow help him with falling asleep. The next thing was the jacket, of course… The “you'll be cold too” thing didn't work. Erik insisted he was used to far colder climate.

They made it out of the airport. Charles never had the pleasure of visiting Warsaw before, so he was incredibly curious to find out, what the city had to offer. He felt a little disappointed, when Erik told him they wouldn't stay there for long enough to go sightseeing. Soon they changed the mean of transport for a train. A nice one, Charles noticed, comparing it to the other ones he saw on the railway platform.

This ride lasted about three hours. Charles learnt they were in a city called Opole, which wasn't their final destination just yet. It was rather nice and certainly a lot calmer than Warsaw.

Maybe on their way back they would visit this place once again, go on a walk, to the café… Charles was craving simplicity after agreeing to the whole impromptu trip. Not that he regretted any of it. He was just interested in what Erik wanted to show him all along and driving farer and farer made it unbearable to wait.

So then, there was a bus from Opole to a much smaller city named Prószków, where they spent a half an hour. It was meant to be the place they were heading all along. Charles had trouble with pronouncing the word and Erik laughed at him basically during the whole bus trip. He made Charles say it over and over again, so Charles failed at it every single time. Xavier partially did it, because he was truly hopeless and couldn't say it correctly even if his life depended on it; but on the other hand, he stopped trying at some point, seeing as Erik laughed brightly. It obviously made Erik happy and at the moment, Charles didn't feel as if he needed anything beyond that.

Prószków was an adorable place. Charles instantly fell in love with it. It was quite empty, which surprised Charles at first. But they were walking through some of the main streets, full of beautiful buildings, clearly put up a few centuries ago, and lack of people didn't bother Charles anymore.

Xavier regretted he didn't take a camera with him, so he could show all those places to Raven. Maybe later he would charge his phone, which died long time ago, since Charles never learnt to remember these basic things.

But then again, there was Erik by his side this time, so he wouldn't need any help.

Erik led them to the small hotel by a larger, forest like area. Charles thought there were probably farms farther away. A lake, too. The amount of moisture in the air was quite obviously giving that away. Charles was wondering whether Erik would take him to see this lake. Maybe they'd even stop by to swim for a moment.

“I'll check us in,” Erik informed the other man. He walked towards the reception. “Hello?”

I couldn't be more than two seconds later, when a woman with short hair and a wide smile appeared. She yelled Erik's name and hugged him tightly. Then they both began to chat in language Charles didn't understand. _Polish, you imbecile_ , Charles told himself.

A girl occasionally gave Charles a quick glance, probably talking about him. She winked at Erik, who looked at her with a small dose of irritation and commented it shortly, although he seemed fond of the person he was talking to. The only word Charles understood then was “stop” and soon after Erik came back to him with a new set of keys. One to their room, the next two to the front door and the gate.

The receptionist didn't go away instantly though, she kept standing right next to them. She didn't hesitate to wave at Charles.

“First time in Poland, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“You like it so far?”

“I really do,” he answered happily.

She smiled brightly at them.

“Have fun, you two!” Then she disappeared behind the door near the reception desk. “Don't be too loud!”

Charles laughed. Erik looked like he wanted to run away but his expression changed instantly after Charles looked at him. Heading upstairs, they didn't talk much. Their room was on the second floor. It was quite big, at least for a small hotel they were going to spend the next two nights in. Charles liked the change, to be honest. Constant being in the huge mansion became pretty depressing over the years, not to mention the incredible loneliness. Raven was there, sure. Well, when she wasn't on one of her trips. But except the two of them, there was nobody.

He always wanted to make the Xavier residence something important, a school, maybe even a university? Charles often wondered whether anybody would take him seriously, when it came to his ridiculous plans to change that place.

So, in the opposite of living in the house as big as if it'd have to fit a royal family, he loved being able to share a small amount of space with a person he felt fully comfortable with, he felt so cosy in the best way possible.

“Do we have time to unpack?”

“Sure,” said Erik, already looking for something amongst his clothes. “I'll go have a quick shower and the we can take a walk.”

Charles sat on the bed after Erik already entered the bathroom. He picked up a few things from his luggage. It was far too big for a simple weekend but he was this kind of person, who always took too many unnecessary things on the trips and yet ended up forgetting the most important one. He was suspicious towards the fact he didn't notice anything missing yet.

_Huh, I didn't think about getting us condoms, safety is really important…_

He shook his head. Erik took him to Europe to show him something,  not have sex ,  he made it sound clear enough. It wasn't just a trip but certainly something related closely to the man's past. Charles didn't plan to underestimate  a matter , which would probably turn out to be extremely serious. 

But it was just the mere thought of Erik in the shower, which made Charles a little (well, more than a little) aroused. He coughed and started to unpack himself, just like he was planning to do. Ignoring the feeli ng wasn't easy though, especially since moving his belongings to the closet wasn't taking long enough to fill the time until Erik would get out of the shower.

Charles was standing near the closet. He figured out changing his sweater wasn't a bad idea.  He already took off Erik's jacket, because he was scared he would get used to the warm feeling around his shoulders. Making his way through the clothes he just put inside the closet, he decided to wear a simple, white button up and a blue vest on top of it.  Charles took off his sweater  and put it on the bed .  He didn't manage however to put on anything else before the bathroom door suddenly opened and Erik stepped outside.

His hair was wet, drops of water still visible on his neck and arms. He was wearing barely a top tank and some jeans, which was undoubtly more than Charles at the moment. Xavier's cheeks instantly coloured but he couldn't look away nor move, eyes focused on Erik, his muscular body and intriguing expression.

“Sorry,” said Lehnsherr, exactly when Charles started mumbling an explanation: “I was just…”

Erik shook his head.

“No, it's my fault, I'll go back.”

“Don't.”

“What…?”

“I mean… Oh my God,” Charles breathed out.

It was a ridiculous situation. Charles was previously so busy thinking, he didn't even realise, when Erik turned off the water in the shower. He took the shirt and began to undo the buttons in order to put it on. Then they'd go on a walk, just like they planned.

_Easy_ , he thought as he struggled with the buttons.

“Here, let me help you,” offered Erik.

_Maybe not so easy._

Lehnsherr grabbed his shirt. They were suddenly  standing so close, their hands brushing against each other. Erik undid every button slowly, while Charles held his breath, watching  the man's long, gentle fingers.  He lifted his head to meet Erik's eyes.

“Thank you,” he mumbled.

After a couple of seconds, which lasted painfully long, Erik cupped Charles's cheeks with his hands. Xavier's shirt  fell on the floor but he didn't pay attention to the object any more, lost somewhere in Erik's eyes.

Why was it harder too breath with every second? Charles had many lovers over many years, but he never felt something like this before.

“Gott, I want you so badly, I can't stop myself,” whispered Erik.

He lifted Charles's chin and closed the man's lips with his own. The kiss was desperate, as if Erik 's only way to stay alive was kissing Charles as passionately as he possibly could. Soon there was no spare space between them. Erik's hands appeared on Charles's naked back. But Lehnsherr didn't stop there, he wanted to touch every piece of his friend's body. As soon as he reached Charles's trousers, he backed away slightly to grab Charles by the back of his thighs and lift him up to the air.

Then he kissed Charles again, while he moved to the nearest wall and pressed the man against it, settling himself between Xavier's legs. Sudden impact together with Erik frame pressed closely against him made Charles moan quietly in Lehnsherr's mouth.

Erik sighed deeply and moved his lips to Charles's neck, sucking it and biting. Charles was making all these little noises Erik apparently grew fond of instantly. He made a huge love bite on Charles's left collarbone, which basically screamed the word _mine_.

“Oh, Erik,” mumbled Charles, having trouble with catching a breath. “Take me to bed… Ah! Darling. Make love to me…”

“Anything you want, Schatz.”

E rik lifted him up once again and carefully laid on the bed, climbing on top of Charles after wards . He took off his top tank just to press his lips against Charles's skin again. His mouth was around the man's nipple, when Charles's hand grabbed his hair and pulled it quite strongly. Erik groaned. 

Charles changed their position in order to be on top of Erik himself.

“Don't think you can do it all by yourself,” he said with a smirk. He licked his already impossibly red lips. 

He didn't need an invitation to move himself down. The only thing he wanted to see was Erik's erection, already pretty visible, even though Erik was still wearing his jeans. Charles touched it through the fabric to tease Erik.

Lehnsherr's hand clenched on Charles's shoulder.

“I want to taste you,” whispered Charles. “How do you say that in German?” He kissed Erik's pelvic muscle, at the same time as he got rid of Erik's jeans and underwear. 

Erik looked at him with pure lust in his eyes. He tried to answer Charles's question but the man was getting closer and closer to Erik's penis, which was terribly distracting.  Xavier bit the sensitive skin on the inside of Erik's thigh, brushing against  his erection.

“I didn't hear you, darling,” he said.

“Ich…”

Charles touched Erik's cock gently.

“Yes?”

“Ich möchte euch _schmecke_.”

Smile spread across Charles's face. He bit his lips and licked them again.  Then h e moved Erik's hand from his shoulder up to his hair and with one certain move Charles took Erik in his mouth, red lips on warm skin, his own hands down, touching himself at the same time. Erik started moving simultaneously with Charles, the top of his cock hitting Charles's palate.  Xavier felt like he couldn't breathe but he took Erik's cock deeper anyway.

Soon Erik grabbed him, muttering that he was too close. He didn't make much sense but neither did Charles's thoughts, especially when Erik whispered he wanted to fuck him senseless. Charles at this point didn't even bother thinking about protection at all, which was terribly irresponsible, but luckily Erik was more than prepared, _which sounded so dirty_.

Erik drew back, which made Charles incredibly anxious all of the sudden. He let out a small sound of dissatisfaction but he stopped himself, when he noticed what Lehnsherr pulled out of his luggage. A pack of condoms and half used lube. Charles kissed him again, pushing his tongue inside Erik's mouth. When he took another breath, he asked:

“Half used?”

It wasn't meant to sound suspiciously. Erik could do whatever he wanted, have sex with anybody he desired and it was none of Charles's business. But he felt a sting in his stomach, when he thought about Erik touching someone else like this.

The way Erik smiled at him made Charles blush furiously.

“You expected me not to fantasize about those red lips of yours?”

Charles threw himself at Erik, kissing him again passionately. Next thing Charles knew was thet he was laying on his back with his legs in the air. Erik told him he wanted to look him in the eyes, _those beautiful blue eyes,_ the man said.

There were Erik's fingers inside him, _more, more, Charles wanted more._ Erik was so careful not to hurt Charles, who truth to be told, didn't engage in any sexual activity for a long time, putting his personal life on hold in order to take care of his carrier or helping others with all sorts of things, because he was Charles and it meant he was the first person to be responsible for charities or any pro bono work.

Somehow Erik seemed to know that, respect it and treat Charles almost cautiously. It may have been nice from a certain point of view but Charles moaned he wanted Erik, wanted to be fucked, forget his own name, yelling Erik's desperately out of pleasure.

It made Erik so hungry.

He grabbed Charles's ass and guided his hard cock towards it, making his way so painfully slowly but with more and more force every time. Charles moaned loudly. He wasn't going to hold himself back, not when there were so many things going on with his own body pressed against the most handsome men he's ever seen and Charles just couldn't control all the pleasure.

Erik fucked him like no one else ever before, with all his body and heart. Charles could hear their heavy breaths mixed together, see their bodies the way he didn't knew where his flesh ended and Erik's began and it felt so right, so damned good.

It didn't took long for them to be at the edge. Charles was muttering under his breath all kinds of sweet nothing.

“I'm gonna… Ah, Erik, I'm…”

The other man touched Charles's dick, sliding his fingers from the head of it to the balls.

“C'mon, Charles, Liebling… Do it for me.”

It was too much for Charles and he wouldn't stop it anyway, so he came spectacularly, screaming Erik's name with pleasure just as he imagined. All of his vision was a little blurry. Erik wasn't far behind, achieving the orgasm couple of second later with a gasp. He bit Chalers's shoulder. It would probably stay bruised afterwards but Charles couldn't care less. He didn't even have the strength to move. It was Erik, who changed their position slightly, removing his cock from Charles, who felt a terrible ache of emptiness but he laid his head on Erik's chest happily.

Then Charles closed his eyes, partially because he was honestly exhausted after a long journey and the most spectacular sex in his life, but also because he felt so safe in Erik's arms it was impossible not to let it overwhelm him. So he allowed himself to fall asleep.

He didn't know, how many hours have passed, before he woke up. All Charles knew was that he wasn't laying on Erik's warm chest any more. But Erik was still in the room, Charles noticed him after blinking rapidly to get used to the daylight. Erik was in fact sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Erik?” Asked Charles with a rough voice. He should realize all the screaming wouldn't do any good but he didn't regret it.

When the man didn't reply, Charles got a little concerned.

“Is everything all right, my friend?”

Again Erik didn't say anything nor even move. Charles frowned but he got up from the bed. He shouldn't approach Erik from behind in case something bad happened and Erik didn't feel too good, it was a simple psychological rule and Charles wanted Erik to trust him completely. So he went around the bed and as he was getting closer to the other man, Erik turned his face in the different direction.

Charles sat beside him with an extremely worried expression. He touched Erik's chin and turned his face the way he could see tears streaming down Erik's cheeks.

“Erik, darling, what's wrong?”

“Don't call me that.”

“Why… Oh, all right. I see.”

Charles looked down on his bare foots. He wasn't so foolish, wasn't he? Imagining far too much than Erik wanted to offer him. But on the other hand, there was no point in Erik's crying. It was Charles, who should feel rejected. Though he wasn't going to weep, since Erik obviously needed his support somehow.

Lehnsherr looked at him abruptly and shook his head.

“No, that's not what I meant.”

The smile on Charles's face was weak and not really honest. He didn't get people sometimes. He used to see people as if they were open books, he could read them as he wanted and by some miracle, they seemed to understand him just as much. Most of them has this sympathy towards him, even though Charles didn't have a clue why. But Erik from the day one was a question, a secret, which needed to be revealed or otherwise, Charles would go crazy.

“It's okay, Erik, I shouldn't think there was more to it than…”

“There was! There _is_ , Charles,” Erik insisted. He took Charles's hand. “I watched you sleeping in my arms and I felt like I was using you… It felt so bad.”

Charles hesitated.

“Are you? Using me?”

“I don't know,” whispered Erik.

It wasn't something Charles had an answer to. He decided to fall silent. _Christ_. He was on the other continent with Erik, giving himself to the man, expecting a never ending love story… When did he become so pathetic?

Erik took a little stronger grip of Charles's hand he was still holding.

“I have to show you something.”

So they did go out, Charles was finally fully clothed in the button up and the vest he was trying to put on before. Erik picked something new for himself as well. They left their room, locked every one of three locks on three separate doors. Streets were as quiet as before, but between them there was not a single word said after Erik's suggestion to go outside and show Charles something.

By the time they passed through the first couple of streets, Charles was so anxious he was biting his lips hard enough they'd soon start to bleed and his clenched, pale fists didn't look much better either. Erik finally started talking, whether because of the stress or something else, Charles didn't know.

“I treat very dearly this place, Charles. It was my home for a long time. There,” he said, pointing out some street, “is where I was walking to work every day. I saw my colleges. There was a bakery down that hill, where we were always buying ourself breakfast, it was the best food in the whole town.”

Charles smiled absently, imagining younger Erik doing exactly that, enjoying good food and working in a factory, which was surprisingly pleasant.

They turned to the other street and Erik continued his story there.

“I was already living here for a while, when I met my wife.”

 _Wife? Erik's wife? Great_ , Charles thought. He was suddenly panicking again but decided to stay calm for the sake of the story. He wanted to hear more, everything Erik had to say to him, so he forced himself to listen silent.

 _I should have figured it out a long time ago. He's married. Erik is married, it was all too good to be true. Maybe that's for the better. I don't have time for relationships,_ he stated to himself, biting his lower lip even harder. _But it's Erik. Erik is different. It was all supposed to be possible with Erik. Damn it, don't cry. You will only embarrass yourself._

_But Erik isn't wearing a ring, never was. I would notice that. Is he divorced? In separation maybe?_

“I had a house, it wasn't much but I was happy. That's why this girl from our hotel knew me, actually. Her mother sold me a house a long time ago. They were always close with me and my wife.”

_Me and my wife, sounds like you are a happy marriage. Why on hell would you cheat on her with me? To make me feel bad? God, I'm such an awful person._

“Then my daughter was born.”

_So you have kids, too?_

“Such a darling, you would have loved her.”

_I'm sure. Yes. She surely will like the men, who destroyed her family._

“She used to spent all days in the forest. Animals loved her, especially birds. One time she found a sparrow with a broken wing and I know, it sounds like such a cliché. She basically forced me to agree to having this bird in our house until it'll get better. And it did. It _did_ , Charles.”

It sounded lovely, Charles had to admit that. He was sure Erik's daughter was everything a perfect child should be. _But the lies? How did I deserve that? All this time, when Erik was meeting me, texting me, talking for hours over the phone… Was it just a game? And where is his family?_

Charles wanted to stop, turn around and run away. There were too many questions without answers and his feelings were killing him from the inside.

“But then… Then…”

Erik seemed not to be able to finish the sentence, so Charles looked at him worriedly. He was so lost in thoughts he didn't notice Erik started crying again and not only the way he was before but so much worse. His eyes were red, cheeks wet, expression extremely sad.

It was the exact moment, when Charles realized where he actually was. He wanted to hit himself in the face. He was so _utterly stupid_. Looking at the empty graves, cold cemetery, Charles's heart broke into pieces.

The names on the nearest grave, _Magda and Nina_ _Lehnsherr. Beloved wife and daughter forever in our hearts._ In that moment Charles wanted for it to be false. Wanted for Erik to be a dick, who would cheat on his wife but have her, have his child, for God's sake. Charles would give up everything they had for it to happen but he didn't have the power.

He looked at Erik apologetically but Erik wasn't finished.

“I needed to stay at work longer, so they would go to this play alone. It was her first theatre show, at her school. I should have been there, driving the car. I should have been the one killed,” he barely could speak properly, sobbing at the same time. “I was told the driver didn't even stop, when the accident happened. Probably some drunk. And I wasn't even informed about the accident until hours later. Then I thought all this time, if somehow I could stop it from happening. But I wasn't there. It was my fault…”

Erik fell on his knees, seemed defeated. Charles was near him in a blink of an eye. He took him in his arms, saying “it wasn't your fault, no, how can you think that” over and over again. Erik cried into his shirt for a long time. Charles couldn't bother to check how long. All he wanted was to make Erik feel better, comfort him after all he's been through.

Later Erik calmed down a little. His head was still pressed against Charles's shoulder. He took a deep breath.

“A year.”

Charles didn't understand at first, humming a rather confused but soft “huh?” under his breath. Erik moved away just as much as it was needed to look at the other man.

“It's been almost a year since I lost them. Barely a few months, when I first saw you in Germany. Do you want to know what I was doing there in the first place?”

“You don't have to…”

“I want to.”

“Okay,” Charles agreed. He nodded slightly as he was adjusting to the thought of getting even more painful details from Erik's past. “Tell me then.”

“I was told the driver, who killed… He was from Germany and at the time I wanted to kill him more than anything else in the world. But I didn't do it, don't worry. Fortunately or not, the information turned out to be false.”

_Who even gives a person information about something like that?_

“I wouldn't think you did under any circumstances.”

“Well, maybe you should,” answered Erik darkly. “If my friend Emma didn't ask me to visit her in New York, I would probably just sink deeper in my revenge hunt. But she basically made me live with her for a while. Not that I wanted to, I was already willing to leave without even telling her, until…”

Charles gave him a curious yet still worried look.

“Did something happened?”

“Yeah. Something did.” Erik took a deep breath. “Emma asked me to get her this book from a local library, something business related, I don't even remember any more.”

“How did it change your mind?”

“You really are absolutely clueless sometimes, Charles,” the man said with a small smile. “I saw _you_. You struggling with this damned molecular genetics book. And I thought, hey? Maybe it means something? Maybe it's just a fucking coincidence? But I wanted to help you and then it was just easier to stay, thinking I could see someone so nice and caring about others on the street here, when basically anywhere else in the world I was alone.”

The last word sounded so terribly empty in Erik's mouth. Charles touched his hand and began stroking his skin slowly.

“Me? But your friend, Emma? I'm sure she was caring and supporting towards you.”

Erik laughed bitterly.

“Clearly you didn't have the pleasure of meeting her.”

“Pleasure?”

“If you have masochistic tendencies…”

They both smiled at each other but Erik's eyes were filling with tears again and Charles couldn't do anything about it, except asking yet again:

“What's wrong, darling?”

He wiped off a single tear from Erik's cheek.

“Isn't it weird? I stayed in New York because of you. And you said I was helping you every time, when it was you, who stopped me from killing some drunk driver, or even myself.”

“Oh, Erik,” whispered Charles. “No, it's not weird. I'm proud of your for being so strong.”

“I'm not _strong_ ,” Erik said as if he hated the sound of it, how unreal it felt. “When the accident happened, I started hating everybody. Not that I liked people very much before. But then I despised them, the world without my babies… It was wrong. So when you appeared, I was so surprised.”

Charles seemed rather confused.

“Why?”

“Because you weren't wrong. You were so _good_ , so honest and beautiful and at first I was angry at you, because how could you exist, someone so perfect, when my family was killed. And the more I saw you and talked to you, I was falling for you harder and harder. While there was and still is a part of my heart, which belonged to my wife.”

“Darling…”

“No, Charles, let me finish. I was falling for you but I felt guilty about feeling so much towards someone, who wasn't my wife. Or maybe you weren't even there? And I made you up, because I was miserable enough to finally loose my sanity… But on top of it, all the loneliness. It felt like it should be there, after everything, loneliness was all I've got left. But you came and I didn't need to feel lonely any more. Only was it all right, since it felt like I should be alone for the sake of everything what happened?”

At this point Charles couldn't stop himself. He leaned in and kissed softly Erik, who tasted salty like tears, but still was the only person Charles wanted to kiss for the eternity and longer.

“You're not alone,” he mumbled in his mouth. Erik looked him in the eyes to admire how Xavier beamed with determination and care. “Erik, you're not alone. And you'll never be alone again.”

They spent about an hour more on the graveyard. Charles asked about Erik's family and Erik shared all kinds of storied. There were more of the happy ones than the sad ones. It made Charles's chest warmer, when they were walking back to the hotel, holding hands firmly.

  
  


  
  


+ii.

“Do we have to do it?”

A month later Erik stood hesitantly before Xavier's residence. He had a small bouquet in his hands, red flowers matching the wine. It seemed like he thought everything through but he didn't, he was honestly too nervous to organize anything properly. And was it a spot on his shirt? Damn it.

“Come on, I can basically hear you thoughts from here, stop panicking!”

“She'll hate me!”

“No, she won't. Now give me your hand, she is probably already waiting.”

“She wouldn't miss us if we ran away now, I'm just saying.”

Charles smiled at him brightly.

“But I want Raven to meet the love of my life.”

Erik couldn’t help but chuckle and then kiss the other man softly.

“You're such a dork, you know?”

“But I'm _your_ dork.”

Erik smiled once again, this time almost absently.

“Yes. Yes, you are,” he said. “But if Raven murders me in the middle on the night, that's on you!”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was meant to be short and fluffy crack about Charles being bad with technology and Erik helping him but it turned out to be something else entirely; honestly what is my life?  
> Hope you liked it anyway, go say hi to me on tumblr: http://phd-in-adorable.tumblr.com/  
> Love you all <3


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